|
The State of Disclosure in West Virginia
West
Virginia earned a C+ and ranked 28th in 2008,
and was the fourth most improved state overall
since 2007, when the state earned a D+ and
ranked 32nd. Additionally, the state’s
accessibility grade jumped from an F to a
B- since last year, and West Virginia was
the most improved state in this area since
2007.
West
Virginia’s disclosure law improved
from a C to a C+ due to legislation passed
in 2007. Candidates are required to report
detailed information about all contributors,
including occupation and employer data for
those giving $250 or more during an election
cycle. Expenditures must be itemized, and under
a recently-enacted law (Senate Bill 713 of
2007), candidates must report subvendor details.
Lack of both last-minute contribution reporting
and auditing provisions are weak points in
the state’s disclosure law. The state’s
electronic filing program also improved under
the new law: all statewide candidates must
now file electronically and legislative candidates
do so on a voluntary basis. In 2008, the Secretary
of State’s office launched a new, web-based
electronic filing system, creating a more user-friendly
filing option that has doubled the number of
voluntary filers to 40 percent since 2006.
The
debut of a new, searchable database of campaign
contributions and expenditures in 2008 earned
West Virginia the distinction of being the
most improved state in the accessibility
category since 2007. Visitors to the Secretary
of State’s web site can search electronically-filed
reports by contributor name, employer, or zip
code, or search expenditure records by vendor
name or expenditure purpose. Search results
can be sorted online and an option for downloading
the data is expected to be added in 2008. The
database could be made more user-friendly with
fields for searching for transactions by a
specific date or amount. Site visitors can
also browse electronically-filed reports and
scanned copies of paper reports, both of which
are posted to the web within 24 hours of receipt
by the Secretary of State’s office.
West
Virginia dropped from a C+ to a C- in 2008 in
the Online Contextual and Technical Usability
category due to a weaker performance on the usability
test than in 2007. Testers rated their overall
experiences on the site poorly, though the 2008
test was conducted prior to the debut of the
new search options noted above. The Secretary
of State’s site features a clear description
of the data available online, detailed candidate
lists, and both original and clearly-labeled
amended reports. The disclosure site could be
enhanced further with the addition of simple
comparisons of the funds raised and spent by
competing candidates in each election and by
adding the starting and ending date of each reporting
period to the index of candidates’ reports
→ Quick
Fix: Provide a simple comparison
of the totals raised and spent by
candidates for each office in the
most recent election.
♦ Editor’s
Pick: The
Secretary of State’s “Campaign
Finance Activity & Reporting” web
page offers a wealth of information
related to the rules and requirements
for campaign financing in West
Virginia. View
image
 Disclosure Agency: West Virginia Secretary of State
Disclosure Web Site: http://www.wvsos.com
|
